U.S. patent number 10,314,399 [Application Number 15/746,997] was granted by the patent office on 2019-06-11 for storage container.
This patent grant is currently assigned to TTS TOOLTECHNIC SYSTEMS AG & CO. KG. The grantee listed for this patent is TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG. Invention is credited to Markus Barabeisch, Lutz Wolle.
United States Patent |
10,314,399 |
Wolle , et al. |
June 11, 2019 |
Storage container
Abstract
A storage container that has a container housing in which at
least one receiving compartment is formed, and a drawer element
which can be pulled out and retracted is located in the receiving
compartment. Pull out-limiting means prevent the drawer element
from being accidentally pulled out beyond a maximum pull-out
operating position. The pull out-limiting means have stop tongues
which can be pivoted against lateral outer wall sections of the
drawer element by means of elastic deformation and each of which
includes a stop protrusion that protrudes outwards. A counter stop
edge which is arranged on the container housing is located in the
pull-out path of each stop protrusion. If the drawer element is
pulled out completely, the stop tongues can be bent by being
manually acted upon such that the respective stop protrusion can
pass by the counter stop edge.
Inventors: |
Wolle; Lutz (Burlafingen,
DE), Barabeisch; Markus (Vohringen, DE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG |
Wendlingen |
N/A |
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
TTS TOOLTECHNIC SYSTEMS AG &
CO. KG (Wendlingen, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
53724360 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/746,997 |
Filed: |
July 24, 2015 |
PCT
Filed: |
July 24, 2015 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/EP2015/066978 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
January 23, 2018 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2017/016574 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
February 02, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180213934 A1 |
Aug 2, 2018 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25H
3/021 (20130101); A47B 88/90 (20170101); E05B
65/46 (20130101); A47B 2210/19 (20130101); A47B
88/57 (20170101); B25H 3/028 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
88/90 (20170101); E05B 65/46 (20170101); B25H
3/02 (20060101); A47B 88/57 (20170101) |
Field of
Search: |
;220/4.26-4.28,4.31,4.33
;206/372,373 ;312/902,107,108,111,330.1,333,290 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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576244 |
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Jun 1976 |
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CH |
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2132126 |
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Jun 1971 |
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DE |
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7222173 |
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Sep 1972 |
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DE |
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8913752 |
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Feb 1990 |
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DE |
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29719059 |
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Dec 1997 |
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DE |
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202009018589 |
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May 2012 |
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DE |
|
102012107955 |
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Mar 2014 |
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DE |
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1658160 |
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May 2008 |
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EP |
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9612424 |
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May 1996 |
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WO |
|
2017016573 |
|
Feb 2017 |
|
WO |
|
2017016581 |
|
Feb 2017 |
|
WO |
|
Primary Examiner: Wilkens; Janet M
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hoffmann & Baron, LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A storage container comprising a container housing provided with
at least one reception compartment open at a compartment opening on
a front side of the container housing and with a drawer element
arranged in the reception compartment in a manner allowing its
pulling-out of and its pushing into the reception compartment in a
longitudinal direction of the container housing, wherein the drawer
element, in order to form a drawer interior, has a base wall and an
outer wall projecting upwards from the base wall and having two
lateral outer wall sections located opposite each other at a
distance in a transverse direction --perpendicular to the
longitudinal direction --of the container housing, and further
comprising pull-out limiting means for limiting the pulling-out of
the drawer element from the reception compartment, and wherein the
pull-out limiting means comprise a stop tongue at each of the two
lateral outer wall sections of the drawer element, which can be
pivoted by elastic deformation in the transverse direction of the
container housing, and which has at least one stop projection
projecting in the transverse direction away from the drawer
interior towards the outside, and wherein, at the container
housing, there is provided in each of the two lateral edge regions
of the compartment opening a counter-stop edge located in the
pull-out path of one of the stop projections, against which
counter-stop edge the associated stop projection can run while the
drawer element is pulled out in order to pre-set the maximum
pulled-out operating position, wherein the stop tongues by the
application of manual force are reversibly pivotable inwards
towards the drawer interior into a release position in order to
allow the complete removal of the drawer element from the reception
compartment, and wherein the counter-stop edges are formed on
boundary wall sections of the container housing, which laterally
bound the compartment opening of the reception compartment.
2. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the stop
tongues are placed at the lateral outer wall sections in such a way
that they come to lie outside the reception compartment with a
section of their length in the maximum pulled-out operating
position of the drawer element.
3. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the stop
tongues are located within the outline of the associated lateral
outer wall section of the drawer element as viewed in the
transverse direction.
4. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein each of the
stop tongues is located in a wall opening of the associated lateral
outer wall section of the drawer element.
5. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein each of the
stop tongues has a support arm, which supports the stop projection
and is joined in one piece and in an elastically flexible manner to
the associated lateral outer wall section of the drawer element in
a transition region located at a distance from the stop
projection.
6. The storage container according to claim 5, wherein a raised
operating structure for the manual application of force is formed
on the outside of the support arm remote from the drawer interior
between the stop projection and the transition region to the
lateral outer wall section.
7. The storage container according to claim 6, wherein the raised
operating structure is designed in the manner of a fluting.
8. The storage container according to claim 5, wherein the stop
tongue extends from the transition region in the push-in direction
of the drawer element.
9. The storage container according to claim 5, wherein each of the
stop tongues is located in a wall opening of the associated lateral
outer wall section of the drawer element, and wherein the support
arm extends within the wall opening in one plane with the
associated lateral outer wall section, the stop projection
projecting beyond the wall outer surface --remote from the drawer
interior --of the lateral outer wall section.
10. The storage container according to claim 5, wherein the stop
projection is located at a free end region of the support arm
opposite the transition region.
11. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein a handle
usable for pulling out the drawer element is located on the outside
--remote from the drawer interior --of a front outer wall section
of the drawer element, which is assigned to the compartment
opening.
12. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the
container housing comprises a plurality of reception compartments
placed on top of one another in the height direction of the
container housing, each containing a drawer element provided with
pull-out limiting means.
13. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the
container housing has a modular structure and comprises a plurality
of housing modules arranged on top of one another in the height
direction of the container housing and coupled to one another in
pairs in a way which prevents lifting off from each other, wherein
two housing modules arranged immediately on top of each other in
each case jointly define a reception compartment for a drawer
element.
14. The storage container according to claim 13, wherein at least
one or each of the reception compartments is laterally bounded by a
compartment side wall, which is formed by the container housing and
which comprises an upward-projecting upper module side wall of a
lower housing module and a downward-projecting lower module side
wall of an upper housing module located on top of this lower
housing module in the height direction and latched thereto in a way
which prevents lifting off.
15. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the
container housing comprises a plurality of reception compartments,
each bounded by two housing modules placed immediately on top of
each other, for a pull-out and push-in drawer element each, wherein
at least one or each of the housing modules located between two
reception compartments is designed as a housing intermediate module
having a module horizontal wall extending between the two reception
compartments at right angles to the height direction and an
upward-projecting upper module side wall formed in one piece with
the module horizontal wall at the edge thereof as well as a lower
module side wall formed in one piece with the module horizontal
wall at the edge thereof and projecting beyond the module
horizontal wall in the downward direction in such a way that the
housing intermediate module contributes to the formation of both a
compartment side wall laterally bounding the reception compartment
placed above the housing intermediate module and a compartment side
wall laterally bounding the reception compartment placed below.
16. A storage container comprising a container housing provided
with at least one reception compartment open at a compartment
opening on a front side of the container housing and with a drawer
element arranged in the reception compartment in a manner allowing
its pulling-out of and its pushing into the reception compartment
in a longitudinal direction of the container housing, wherein the
drawer element, in order to form a drawer interior, has a base wall
and an outer wall projecting upwards from the base wall and having
two lateral outer wall sections located opposite each other at a
distance in a transverse direction --perpendicular to the
longitudinal direction --of the container housing, and further
comprising pull-out limiting means for limiting the pulling-out of
the drawer element from the reception compartment, and wherein the
pull-out limiting means comprise a stop tongue at each of the two
lateral outer wall sections of the drawer element, which can be
pivoted by elastic deformation in the transverse direction of the
container housing, and which has at least one stop projection
projecting in the transverse direction away from the drawer
interior towards the outside, and wherein, at the container
housing, there is provided in each of the two lateral edge regions
of the compartment opening a counter-stop edge located in the
pull-out path of one of the stop projections, against which
counter-stop edge the associated stop projection can run while the
drawer element is pulled out in order to pre-set the maximum
pulled-out operating position, wherein the stop tongues by the
application of manual force are reversibly pivotable inwards
towards the drawer interior into a release position in order to
allow the complete removal of the drawer element from the reception
compartment, and wherein the stop projections are designed to be
barb-shaped at their rear side oriented in the pull-out direction
of the drawer element and therefore have an inclined stop face at
the rear, the counter-stop edges having correspondingly inclined
counter-stop faces, so that the stop projections are hooked to the
counter-stop edges in the maximum pulled-out operating position of
the drawer element.
17. A storage container comprising a container housing provided
with at least one reception compartment open at a compartment
opening on a front side of the container housing and with a drawer
element arranged in the reception compartment in a manner allowing
its pulling-out of and its pushing into the reception compartment
in a longitudinal direction of the container housing, wherein the
drawer element, in order to form a drawer interior, has a base wall
and an outer wall projecting upwards from the base wall and having
two lateral outer wall sections located opposite each other at a
distance in a transverse direction --perpendicular to the
longitudinal direction --of the container housing, and further
comprising pull-out limiting means for limiting the pulling-out of
the drawer element from the reception compartment, and wherein the
pull-out limiting means comprise a stop tongue at each of the two
lateral outer wall sections of the drawer element, which can be
pivoted by elastic deformation in the transverse direction of the
container housing, and which has at least one stop projection
projecting in the transverse direction away from the drawer
interior towards the outside, and wherein, at the container
housing, there is provided in each of the two lateral edge regions
of the compartment opening a counter-stop edge located in the
pull-out path of one of the stop projections, against which
counter-stop edge the associated stop projection can run while the
drawer element is pulled out in order to pre-set the maximum
pulled-out operating position, wherein the stop tongues by the
application of manual force are reversibly pivotable inwards
towards the drawer interior into a release position in order to
allow the complete removal of the drawer element from the reception
compartment, and wherein the stop projections have, on their front
side oriented in the push-in direction of the drawer element, an
inclined sliding surface, which increasingly diverges from the
drawer interior in the pull-out direction of the drawer element and
which can slide on a counter-stop body which is stationary relative
to the container housing while the pulled-out drawer element is
inserted into the reception compartment, whereby the associated
stop tongue can be pivoted reversibly inwards towards the drawer
interior into a release position without any direct application of
manual force until the stop projection has passed the counter-stop
edge.
18. A storage container comprising a container housing provided
with at least one reception compartment open at a compartment
opening on a front side of the container housing and with a drawer
element arranged in the reception compartment in a manner allowing
its pulling-out of and its pushing into the reception compartment
in a longitudinal direction of the container housing, wherein the
drawer element, in order to form a drawer interior, has a base wall
and an outer wall projecting upwards from the base wall and having
two lateral outer wall sections located opposite each other at a
distance in a transverse direction --perpendicular to the
longitudinal direction--of the container housing , and further
comprising pull-out limiting means for limiting the pulling-out of
the drawer element from the reception compartment, wherein the
pull-out limiting means comprise a stop tongue at each of the two
lateral outer wall sections of the drawer element which can be
pivoted by elastic deformation in the transverse direction of the
container housing and which has at least one stop projection
projecting in the transverse direction away from the drawer
interior towards the outside, and in that at the container housing
there is provided in each of the two lateral edge regions of the
compartment opening a counter-stop edge located in the pull-out
path of one of the stop projections, against which counter-stop
edge the associated stop projection can run while the drawer
element is pulled out in order to pre-set the maximum pulled-out
operating position, wherein the stop tongues by the application of
manual force are reversibly pivotable inwards towards the drawer
interior into a release position in order to allow the complete
removal of the drawer element from the reception compartment,
wherein the stop tongues are placed at the lateral outer wall
sections in such a way that they come to lie outside the reception
compartment with a section of their length in the maximum
pulled-out operating position of the drawer element, wherein each
of the stop tongues has a support arm, which supports the stop
projection and is joined in one piece and in an elastically
flexible manner to the associated lateral outer wall section of the
drawer element in a transition region located at a distance from
the stop projection, wherein the stop tongue extends from the
transition region in the push-in direction of the drawer element.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application claims priority based on an International
Application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty,
PCT/EP2015/066978, filed Jul. 24, 2015.
The invention relates to a storage container comprising a container
housing provided with at least one reception compartment open at a
compartment opening on a front side of the container housing and
with a drawer element arranged in the reception compartment in a
manner allowing to be pulled out of and to be pushed into the
reception compartment in a longitudinal direction of the container
housing, wherein the drawer element, in order to form a drawer
interior, has a base wall and an outer wall projecting upwards from
the base wall and having two lateral outer wall sections located
opposite each other at a distance in a transverse
direction--perpendicular to the longitudinal direction--of the
container housing, and further comprising pull-out limiting means
for limiting the pulling-out of the drawer element from the
reception compartment.
Such a storage container is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,559.
This known storage container has a container housing which forms
several reception compartments arranged on top of one another in a
height direction, in each of which a drawer element capable of
being pulled out of and pushed into a reception compartment in a
longitudinal direction of the container housing coinciding with its
depth direction is located. For operation, each drawer element has
a handle facilitating easy entry in the region of the compartment
opening of the reception compartment on the front side of the
container housing. In order to prevent the accidental excessive
pulling-out of the drawer element, the storage container is
provided with pull-out limiting means having a stroke limiting stop
located on the upper edge of the rear outer wall section of the
drawer element, to which stop is assigned a counter-stop formed in
the region of the compartment opening on the top side of the
reception compartment. The drawer element can be pulled out of the
reception compartment until its stroke limiting stop hits the
counter-stop on the housing. This arrangement has the disadvantage
that the drawer element, if it needs to be removed completely from
the reception compartment, has to be raised in the region of its
front side to disengage the stroke limiting stop from the
counter-stop. As a result of the tilting of the drawer element
involved in this process, the parts in the drawer interior can
shift or even fall out of the drawer interior.
From EP 1 658 160 B1, a storage container is known which is
composed of a plurality of housing modules placed on top of one
another in a height direction and latched together in pairs.
Housing modules which are adjacent to one another in the height
direction in each case together bound a reception compartment which
is open towards the front side of the container housing and in
which a drawer element is located in a pull-out and push-in
arrangement.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,751, too, a storage container is known
which comprises a plurality of housing modules sitting on top of
one another vertically and latched together while bounding a
reception compartment for a drawer element in pairs.
DE 10 2012 107 955 A1 discloses a container with a base wall, two
left-hand and right-hand side walls and a rear wall, it being
possible to stack several such containers on top of one another and
to latch them together. Each container can accommodate a pull-out
drawer.
In DE 20 2009 018 589, a container assembly is disclosed, which is
composed of a plurality of stackable containers which can be
coupled vertically by means of a cabinet lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,045 and US 2002/0125159 A1 describe storage
containers with a one-part carcass, in which several drawers are
located in a pull-out arrangement and which has on its top side an
opening closed by means of a pivotably mounted cover plate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on the problem of providing measures for
completely removing in a simple way a drawer element limited in its
pull-out movement from a reception compartment of a container
housing.
To solve this problem, it is provided, in combination with the
features mentioned above, that the pull-out limiting means comprise
a stop tongue at each of the two lateral outer wall sections of the
drawer element which can be pivoted by elastic deformation in the
transverse direction of the container housing and which has at
least one stop projection projecting in the transverse direction
from the drawer interior towards the outside, and that at the
container housing there is provided in each of the two lateral edge
regions of the compartment opening a counter-stop edge located in
the pull-out path of one of the stop projections, against which
counter-stop edge the associated stop projection can run while the
drawer element is pulled out in order to preset the maximum
pulled-out operating position, wherein the stop tongues can be
pivoted reversibly inwards towards the drawer interior into a
release position by the application of manual force in order to
enable the complete removal of the drawer element from the
reception compartment.
In this way, the accidental excessive pulling-out of the drawer
element from the associated reception compartment is effectively
prevented in the normal use of the storage container. The pull-out
limiting means predetermine the maximum pulled-out operating
position of the drawer element by providing that the stop
projection on the stop tongue runs against the housing-mounted
counter-stop edge located in its pull-out path in the region of the
drawer opening. Relative to the longitudinal direction of the
drawer element, the stop tongue is preferably placed such that the
drawer element maintains a stable horizontal position in the
maximum pulled-out operating position and does not tilt downwards.
If the drawer element has to be removed completely from the
reception compartment at one point, for example on order to carry
it to a place of work with its content, or in order to merely clean
it, the stop tongues can, for example with a finger of each hand,
be pushed inwards towards the drawer interior, so that the stop
projections are pushed out of the collision range with the
counter-stop edges. In this state, the drawer element can be
completely pulled out of the reception compartment, and the stop
projections can pass the associated counter-stop edges. When
subsequently released, the stop tongues spring back from the
release position into their home position, which can also be
described as limiting position, owing to their elastic deformation.
For re-inserting the drawer element into the reception compartment,
the stop tongues are once again pivoted into the release position,
which can be done either directly manually or preferably by
providing that the stop tongues, when contacting the container
housing, are automatically pivoted into the release position for a
short time. As the drawer element can be held in a horizontal
position both during removal and during re-insertion, the contents
of the drawer are not affected by these operations.
Advantageous further developments of the invention emerge from the
dependent claims.
The stop tongues are preferably placed at the lateral outer wall
sections in such a way that they come to lie outside the reception
compartment with a section of their length in the maximum
pulled-out operating position of the drawer element. In this
section of their length, they can comfortably be operated manually
for pivoting from the non-deformed home position into the release
position.
The counter-stop edges fixed in place on the container housing are
expediently formed on boundary wall sections of the container
housing, which bound the compartment opening of the reception
compartment at the sides oriented in the transverse direction. In
this way, the wall of the container housing can be used directly to
form the counter-stop edge.
It is furthermore advantageous if the stop projections are designed
to be barb-shaped at their rear side oriented in the pull-out
direction of the drawer element, wherein the resulting inclined
rear stop face comes to lie opposite a counter-stop face of a
counter-stop edge oriented with a corresponding inclination. As the
drawer element is pulled out, the inclined stop faces come into
contact with the likewise inclined counter-stop faces, so that the
stop projections get locked to the counter-stop edges and a
pulling-out of the drawer element from the reception compartment is
prevented even under a very strong tensile force. In this way, the
pivoting of the stop tongues into the release position can be
effectively avoided even if the drawer element is pulled with
inappropriate strength.
At their front side pointing in the push-in direction of the drawer
element, the stop projections are expediently provided with an
inclined sliding surface which is oriented such that it
increasingly diverges from the drawer interior in the pull-out
direction of the drawer element. These sliding surfaces facilitate
the re-insertion of the drawer element into the reception
compartment, because they make a direct manual pressure on the stop
tongue for pivoting it into the release position unnecessary. When
the drawer element is inserted into the reception compartment, the
sliding surfaces come into contact with counter-stop bodies fixed
to the container housing, on which they slide while simultaneously
being pivoted towards the drawer interior under elastic
deformation. The counter-stop bodies at the same time expediently
define the counter-stop edges acting to limit the pull-out
movement.
It would, for example, be possible to place the stop tongues in
such a way that they project beyond the outline of the lateral
outer wall sections of the drawer element at the rear. It is,
however, more advantageous if they are placed within the outline of
the respectively associated lateral outer wall section, because in
this way they do not affect the compartment depth of the reception
compartment required for accommodating the drawer element.
A variant in which each of the stop tongues is located in a wall
opening of the associated lateral outer wall section of the drawer
element is deemed particularly expedient. Irrespective of their
mounting location, it is in any case advantageous if the stop
tongues are designed in one piece with the associated lateral outer
wall section. The lateral outer wall section is preferably made of
a plastic material, like the stop tongues.
Each stop tongue is preferably designed such that it has an oblong
support arm which is joined to the associated lateral outer wall
section in a transition region in one piece and elastically
flexible and which supports the stop projection, which is
preferably formed in one piece with the support arm, at a point
which is distant from the transition region. The stop projection is
in particular located in a free end region of the support arm
opposite the transition region between the support arm and the
lateral outer wall section. It is advantageous if the support arm
as a whole is elastically flexible in the section of its length
between the transition region and the stop projection.
For the easy operation of the stop tongues, it is advantageous if
the support arm of the stop tongue has on the outside remote from
the drawer interior a raised operating structure, such as a fluted
raised area. In this way, the user of the storage container can
visualise the optimum force introduction area for operating the
stop tongues.
The stop tongues are preferably oriented such that they extend from
the transition region to the lateral outer wall section in the
insertion direction of the drawer element.
If the stop tongues are located in a wall opening of the lateral
outer wall section, it is advantageous if their support arm extends
in a common plane with the lateral outer wall section and only the
stop projection projects beyond the wall outer surface of the
lateral outer wall section, which is remote from the drawer
interior. In this way, the stop tongue can be realised in the
manner of a punching within the contour of the lateral outer wall
section. It is nevertheless preferably produced, together with the
entire drawer carcass, by injection-moulding a plastic
material.
On the outside--remote from the drawer interior--of a front outer
wall section assigned to the compartment opening, each drawer
element is expediently provided with a handle which can be used for
pulling out and for holding in the fully pulled-out state.
The storage container is preferably designed to be portable. For
easy transport, it expediently has at least one carrying handle
which is preferably located on the top side at the outside of the
container housing. During transport, the drawer element is
preferably inserted fully into the associated reception
compartment. Locking means which facilitate a releasable locking of
each drawer element to the housing if fully inserted into the
associated reception compartment are preferably provided.
The base wall of the drawer element is expediently plate-shaped.
The outer wall of the drawer element expediently projects upwards
from the outer edge region of the base wall, extending around the
base wall.
The drawer element is preferably designed without a cover. It is,
however, easily possible to provide the drawer element with a
removable or pivotable cover with which the drawer interior can be
covered on its top side. In this context, it is also possible to
design the drawer element in the manner of a case-type container,
for example as a shell case.
The container housing of the storage container can be designed such
that it defines only a single reception compartment for a drawer
element. If a larger storage volume usable in various ways is to be
made available, however, it is advantageous if several reception
compartments arranged on top of one another in the height direction
of the container housing are formed in the container housing, each
of them accommodating its own drawer element, wherein pull-out
limiting means as described are assigned to each of these drawer
elements.
The container housing can be designed in one piece at least in the
region which defines the at least one reception compartment. To
produce storage containers with different storage volumes in a
cost-effective way, however, it is advantageous if the container
housing has a modular structure and is composed of a plurality of
housing modules arranged on top of one another in the height
direction of the container housing and coupled to one another in
pairs in a way which prevents lifting off, wherein two housing
modules arranged immediately on top of each other in each case
jointly define a reception compartment for a drawer element. For
the paired coupling of the housing modules, latching connection
devices are expediently provided; these can be releasable in
principle, but are preferably of a non-releasable design, so that
they are capable of clamping the housing modules together
permanently in the height direction without play.
In this modular structure, it is not mandatory but advantageous if
at least one or else each of the reception compartments is bounded
by a compartment side wall which is jointly composed of an
upward-projecting upper module side wall of a lower housing module
and a downward-projecting lower module side wall of the housing
module placed immediately above.
If several reception compartments arranged on top of one another in
the storage container are to be realised, it is advantageous if at
least one or else each of the housing modules located between two
reception compartments is designed as a housing intermediate module
having a module horizontal wall extending between the two reception
compartments at right angles to the height direction of the
container housing and an upward-projecting upper module side wall
integrally formed in one piece to the edge of the module horizontal
wall as well as a lower module side wall integrally formed in one
piece to the edge of the module horizontal wall and projecting
beyond the module horizontal wall in the downward direction. In
this way, the housing intermediate module contributes to the
formation of both a compartment side wall bounding the reception
compartment placed above and a compartment side wall bounding the
reception compartment placed below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference
to the enclosed drawing, of which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the
storage container according to the invention, the storage container
having a plurality of reception compartments, each provided with a
drawer element,
FIG. 2 shows the storage container from FIG. 1 with drawer elements
pulled out to different degrees,
FIG. 3 is a front view of the storage container from FIGS. 1 and 2
in the direction according to arrow III from FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through the storage container
according to sectional plane IV-IV from FIG. 3, with the
illustrated drawer element fully pushed into the associated
reception compartment,
FIG. 5 is a further horizontal section according to sectional plane
V-V from FIG. 3, with the assigned drawer element pulled out of the
reception compartment to the maximum operating position preset by
the pull-out limiting means,
FIG. 6 is a further horizontal section through the storage
container according to sectional plane VI-VI from FIG. 3, with the
assigned drawer element fully pulled out of the reception
compartment and the stop tongues still being in their release
position held by manual pressure,
FIG. 7 is a vertical section through the storage container
according to sectional plane VII-VII from FIG. 3, with only the
lowermost of the several reception compartments shown with a drawer
element and the drawer element pulled out partially, but not to the
maximum pulled-out operating position, and
FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the storage container illustrated in
the other figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 8 each show a region of the storage container
framed by dot-dash lines, occasionally isolated and enlarged.
The storage container, which is identified by the reference number
1 in its entirety, has a container housing 2 with a vertical axis
3, the axial direction of the vertical axis 3 being hereinafter
also referred to as the height direction 3.
The container housing 2 further has a longitudinal axis 4
perpendicular to the vertical axis 3 and a transverse axis 5
perpendicular to the vertical axis 3 and the longitudinal axis 4.
The axial direction of the longitudinal axis 4 is hereinafter also
referred to as the longitudinal direction 4, and the axial
direction of the transverse axis 5 is also referred to as the
transverse direction 5 of the container housing 2. The dimensions
in the longitudinal direction 4 define the depth of the container
housing 2, while the dimensions in the transverse direction 5
define its width.
In the usual position of use of the storage container 1, the
vertical axis 3 is oriented vertically and the longitudinal axis 4
and the transverse axis 5 are oriented horizontally.
In a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis 3 the container
housing 2 preferably has an at least substantially rectangular
outline. As a whole, the container housing 2 preferably has a
cuboid basic structure.
The container housing 2 has a front side 6 oriented in the axial
direction of the longitudinal axis 4 and a rear side 7 oriented
oppositely thereto. The container housing 2 further has two lateral
outsides 8, 9 oriented opposite each other in the axial direction
of the transverse axis 5.
The container housing 2 bounds at least one reception compartment
10 and preferably a plurality of reception compartments 10, which
are arranged on top of one another in the height direction 3. In
the illustrated embodiment, three reception compartments 10 are
provided, but any number can be involved in principle. The storage
container 1 can also be provided with one reception compartment 10
only.
Each reception compartment 10 is accessible from the outside
through its own compartment opening 11, which is located on the
front side 11 and cut out of the container housing 2. In each
reception compartment 10 there is provided a drawer element 12,
which can be pulled out of the associated reception compartment 10
in a pull-out movement 13a and pushed into the respective reception
compartment 10 in an opposite push-in movement 13b. The two
movements 13a, 13b are indicated by arrows.
The movement direction of the pull-out movement 13a will
hereinafter also be referred to as pull-out direction 13a. The
movement direction of the push-in movement 13b will hereinafter
also be referred to as push-in direction 13b.
In FIGS. 2 and 4, the topmost of three drawer elements 12 is shown
in the fully pushed-in home position. The middle drawer element 12
placed below is shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 in a position in which it is
partially pulled out of the associated reception compartment 10,
this position being a maximum pulled-out operating position of the
drawer element 12, which is preset by pull-out limiting means 14 to
be explained at a later point. The lowermost drawer element 12 is
shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 in a position in which it has been
completely pulled out of the associated reception compartment 10
and separated from the container housing 2.
For each reception compartment 10, the container housing 2 forms a
compartment side wall 16, which bounds the associated reception
compartment 10 on the sides which are oriented perpendicular to the
vertical axis 3--apart from the region of the compartment opening
11. Each compartment side wall 16--apart from the compartment
opening 11 giving access to the drawer element 12--preferably
extends as a closed wall around the associated reception
compartment 10. Each compartment side wall 16 therefore has two
lateral compartment side wall sections 16a facing the lateral
outsides 8, 9 and a rear compartment side wall section 16b located
at the rear opposite the compartment opening 11.
In an embodiment not shown in the drawing, the container housing 2
is a one-part design. In particular, it has a single-piece housing
body which defines all of the reception compartments provided.
Preferably, however, the container housing 2 has a modular
structure. Here it is composed of a plurality of housing modules
17, which are arranged on top of one another in the axial direction
of the vertical axis 3 and sit on top of one another. Two housing
modules 17 placed immediately adjacent to each other in the height
direction 3 are in each case coupled to each other in such a way
that relative movement in any spatial direction is impossible. In
this way, the coupled housing modules 17 can neither be displaced
relative to each other in a horizontal plane perpendicular to the
vertical axis 3, nor can the housing modules 17 be lifted off each
other in the height direction 3.
The responsibility for the cohesion of the module assembly lies
with coupling devices 18 acting between housing modules 17 which
are adjacent to one another in the height direction 3. As in the
illustrated embodiment, these are preferably designed as latching
connection devices 19. During the assembly of the container housing
2, the housing modules 17 can be placed on top of one another in
the height direction 3 and partially plugged into one another by
applying a defined actuating force, thereby being latched to one
another. The latching connection devices 19 are preferably
non-releasable, so that an unintentional breaking up of the module
assembly can be reliably excluded. In principle, however, it would
be possible to design the coupling devices 18 in a manner which
allows their decoupling.
Housing modules 17 which are arranged directly on top of one
another in the height direction 3 of the container housing 2
together bound one of the reception compartments 10 each. Such
housing modules 17 which bound both a reception compartment 10
placed above and a reception compartment 10 placed below shall be
described as housing intermediate modules 17a. The illustrated
embodiment is provided with several such housing intermediate
modules 17a.
In the region of its underside 23 pointing downwards relative to
the axial direction of the vertical axis 3, the modular container
housing 2 has a housing module 17 described as lower housing end
module 17b. In the region of the opposite top side 24, the
container housing 2 has a housing module 17 described as upper
housing end module 17c.
Together with the housing intermediate module 17a adjacent in the
height direction 3, each housing end module 17b, 17c bounds a
reception compartment 10. If the container housing 2 is to define
only one reception compartment 10, there are no housing
intermediate modules 17a, and the two housing end modules 17b, 17c
are directly fitted to each other, so that they directly and
jointly bound the single reception compartment 10.
Each housing module 17 has a module horizontal wall 25, which
extends transversely and in particular at right angles to the
vertical axis 3. In each housing intermediate module 17a, this
module horizontal wall 25 forms the base of the reception
compartment 10 placed above and at the same time the ceiling of the
reception compartment 10 placed below. In the lower housing end
module 17b, the module horizontal wall 25 forms a lower end wall 33
of the adjacent reception compartment 10, and in the upper housing
end module 17c, the module horizontal wall 25 forms an upper end
wall 34 of the adjacent reception compartment 10. The module
horizontal wall 25 expediently has an at least substantially
rectangular outline, approximately corresponding to the layout of
the container housing 2.
At the edges, two module side walls designated hereinafter as upper
module side wall 27 and as lower module side wall 28 for easier
differentiation are integrally formed in one piece with the module
horizontal wall 25 of at least one housing intermediate module 17a
and preferably of each housing intermediate module 17a. The upper
module side wall 27 projects upwards in the height direction 3 from
the outer edge of the module horizontal wall 25, while the lower
module side wall 28 projects downwards in the height direction 3
from this outer edge 29.
From the outer edge of the lower end wall 33 of the lower housing
end module 17b, an upper module side wall 35 projects upwards in
the height direction 3. In a comparable way, a lower module side
wall 36 projects downwards from the outer edge of the upper end
wall 34, its circumferential shape corresponding to that of the
upper module side wall 35 of the lower end wall 33. If a housing
intermediate module 17a is provided, its intermediate module side
wall 32 likewise has the same circumferential shape as the upper
module side wall 35 and the lower module side wall 36.
In the assembled state of the modular container housing 2, the
upper module side wall 35 of the lower housing end module 17b is
supported with its upward-oriented end face 37 in the axial
direction of the vertical axis 3 on the downward-oriented end face
37 of the lower module side wall 28 or 34 or of the upper housing
end module 17c or the housing intermediate module 17a placed above.
In a comparable way, the lower module side wall 36 of the upper
housing end module 17c is supported with its downward-oriented end
face 37 on the upward-oriented end face 37 of the upper module side
wall 27 or 35 of the lower housing end module 17b or of the housing
intermediate module 17a placed immediately below.
The reception compartment 10 bounded by the lower housing end
module 17b is laterally bounded by a compartment side wall 16
composed of the upper module side wall 35 of the lower housing end
module 17b and the lower module side wall 36 or 28 of the housing
module 17 placed above, the latter being either directly the upper
housing end module 17c or a housing intermediate module 17a.
The reception compartment 10 bounded by the upper housing end
module 17c is laterally bounded by a compartment side wall 16
composed of the lower module side wall 36 of the upper housing end
module 17c and the upper module side wall 35 or 27 of the housing
module 17 placed below, the latter being either directly the lower
housing end module 17b or a housing intermediate module 17a.
If the storage container 1 is provided with at least one housing
intermediate module 17a, its intermediate module side wall 32 at
the same time forms a part of two compartment side walls 16, these
being the compartment side wall 16 of the reception compartment 10
located above the housing intermediate module 17a and the
compartment side wall 16 of the reception compartment 10 located
immediately below the housing intermediate module 17a. In other
words: with its upper module side wall 27 and its lower module side
wall 28, the housing intermediate module 17a simultaneously
contributes to the formation of the compartment side walls 16 of
the reception compartments 10 located above and below the housing
intermediate module 17a.
In order to ensure that the compartment side wall 16 completely
closes off the associated reception compartment 10 irrespective of
the multi-part structure in the height direction 3, the housing
modules 17 immediately above and below the housing intermediate
module 17a in the height direction 3 preferably lie with their
whole surface on the end face 37 of the associated module side wall
27, 28, which is oriented in the axial direction of the vertical
axis 3.
In principle, the upper and lower module side walls 27, 35; 28, 36,
which together define a compartment side wall 16, can have the same
wall height as measured in the height direction 3 of the container
housing 2. In a preferred design, however, which is implemented in
all embodiments, the upper and lower module side walls 27, 35; 28,
36 have different wall heights, so that they project to different
degrees from the associated module horizontal wall 25 in the height
direction 3 of the container housing 2. The upper module side wall
27, 35 is preferably higher than the downward-projecting lower
module side wall 28, 36.
The paired coupling between housing modules 17 placed on top of one
another is in each case established between the lower module side
wall 36, 28 of the respectively upper housing module 17 and the
upper module side wall 35, 27 of the housing module 17 placed
below. The coupling is established by means of the coupling devices
18 referred to above, which are preferably designed as latching
connection devices 19.
In the illustrated storage container 1, latching connection devices
19 of a particularly advantageous design are provided which, for
the paired coupling between housing modules 17 adjacent to one
another in the vertical direction 3, comprise latching hooks
integrally formed on one housing module 17 and latching edges
formed on the other housing module for engagement from behind by
the latching hooks. By the latching connection devices 19, the
housing modules 17 sitting on top of one another are clamped
together vertically.
On its top side, the upper housing end module 17c is expediently
bounded by a cover wall 49, on the upward-oriented outside of which
is provided a bow-shaped carrying handle 52, which can be gripped
with one hand for transporting the storage container 1. The
carrying handle 52 is expediently mounted pivotably on the cover
wall 49, the pivot axis 53 preferably extending in the width
direction of the container housing 2.
The carrying handle 52 can preferably be folded to the cover wall
49 into a position of non-use, in which it expediently comes to lie
in a surface recess 54 of the cover wall 49. For use, the carrying
handle 52 can be swivelled into an upright position of use.
In the illustrated embodiment, the upper end wall 34 and the cover
wall 49 are one and the same component of the upper housing end
module 17c. In an embodiment not shown in the drawing, the cover
wall 49 is provided in addition to the upper end wall 34 and placed
above the latter in the vertical direction 3, acting as a cover
plate of an upper housing end module 17c designed as a container
module.
Each drawer element 12 has a base wall 55, which is preferably
plate-shaped. Around the edge of the base wall 55, there extends an
outer wall 56, which projects upwards in the axial direction of the
vertical axis 3 and, together with the base wall 55, bounds a
drawer interior 57 for storing objects. If the drawer element 12 is
at least partially pulled out of the associated reception
compartment 10 at the front side 6 of the container housing 2, the
drawer interior 57 is open towards the top and accessible for
placing or removing objects.
The drawer interior 57 can be divided into individual interior
sections by means of partitions not illustrated in detail. In
addition, the drawer element 12 can have a removable or a pivotably
mounted cover.
On the outside--remote from the drawer interior 57--of a front
outer wall section 58 of the outer wall 56 of the drawer element
12, which lies in the region of the compartment opening 11 in the
fully pushed-in state (FIG. 4), there is expediently provided a
handle 59, on which the drawer element 12 can be gripped to pull it
out of or to push it back into the reception compartment 10.
The drawer elements 12 expediently consist of a plastic material.
The same applies to the container housing 2.
The pull-out limiting means 14 mentioned above are explained in
greater detail below. They are used to block the drawer element 12
in a maximum pulled-out operating position when it is pulled out of
the reception compartment 10, so that the drawer element 12 cannot
accidentally be pulled out of the container housing 2 completely.
In this maximum pulled-out operating position, which is illustrated
in FIG. 5, most of the length of the drawer element 12 as measured
in the axial direction of the longitudinal axis 4 is outside the
associated reception compartment 10 and only a rear end section 62
of the drawer element 12, which faces the rear compartment side
wall section 16b, is still within the reception compartment 10.
A special feature of the pull-out limiting means 14 lies in the
fact that they can be intentionally and actively deactivated
temporarily in order to facilitate a complete extraction of the
drawer element 12 from the associated reception compartment. Such a
fully pulled-out state of the drawer element 12 is shown in FIG. 6.
In this state, the drawer element 12 can be handled independently
of the container housing 2.
The outer wall 56 projecting from the base wall 55 in the height
direction 3 has two lateral outer wall sections 63, 64 located at a
distance opposite each other in the transverse direction 5 of the
container housing 2. Each of these lateral outer wall sections 63,
64 expediently adjoins directly one of the two lateral edge regions
of the front outer wall section 58 and extends in the longitudinal
direction 4 to the rear end of the drawer element 12. At the rear,
the drawer interior 27 is bounded by a rear outer wall section of
the outer wall 56, which expediently extends parallel to the front
outer wall section 58 and preferably joins the two rear end regions
of the two lateral outer wall sections 63, 64 to each other.
Viewed in the axial direction of the vertical axis 3, the outer
wall 56 is preferably frame-shaped, extending along the outer edge
of the base wall 55.
The pull-out limiting means 14 comprise two stop tongues 66 mounted
pivotably on the drawer element 12, one of the stop tongues 66
being assigned to each of the two lateral outer wall sections 63,
64. Relative to the associated two lateral wall section 63, 64,
each stop tongue 66 is pivotable in a pivoting plane perpendicular
to the vertical axis 3, the pivoting movement performed in this
process being indicated in the drawing by a double-headed arrow at
67.
The pivotability of the stop tongues 66 is a result of the fact
that each stop tongue 66 is mounted on the associated lateral outer
wall section 63, 64 in an elastically deformable manner. The
pivoting range of the stop tongues is indicated in the drawing by
the reference number 68. Each stop tongue 66 is preferably in
itself flexible in a spring-elastic manner.
In the non-operated state, each stop tongue 66 adopts a non-pivoted
home position relative to the associated lateral outer wall section
63, 64 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 8. By the manual application of
an operating force FB, each stop tongue 66 can be pivoted into a
release position shown in FIG. 6, accompanied by its spring-elastic
deformation. The release position is maintained as long as the
operating force FB is applied. If the operating force FB is
cancelled, the stop tongue 66 returns to the non-pivoted home
position owing to the internal elastic tensions built up in the
pivoting process.
Each stop tongue 66 has a support arm 69 with a longitudinal
extension, whereby one end is connected to the associated lateral
outer wall section 63, 64 in a transition region 72. The transition
region 72 expediently coincides with the pivoting range 68. At a
point distant from the transition region 72 in the longitudinal
direction of the support arm 69, the support arm 69 supports a stop
projection 73 projecting outwards from the drawer interior 57 in
the transverse direction 5. The stop projection 73 projects
laterally outwards beyond the support arm 69 and is preferably
located at the free end region of the support arm 69 opposite the
transition region 72. The stop projection 73 is in particular
designed in one piece with the support arm 69.
The stop tongue 66 as a whole is expediently a one-piece plastic
body which is in turn integrally joined in one piece to the
associated lateral outer wall section 63, 64 in the transition
region 72.
Each stop tongue 66 is expediently located on the associated
lateral outer wall section 63, 64 within the outline of the
respective lateral outer wall section 63, 64 as viewed in the
transverse direction 5. It is particularly advantageous if each
lateral outer wall section 63, 64 has a wall opening 75, within
which the associated stop tongue 66 is located.
Each stop tongue 66 is preferably designed such that its support
arm 69, which is preferably plate- or tab-shaped, extends in the
wall plane of the associated lateral outer wall section 63, 64 when
the stop tongue 66 adopts its non-pivoted home position. This can
be seen clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5. The support arm 69 preferably has
the same wall thickness as the associated lateral outer wall
section 63, 64, which simplifies its production in an injection
moulding process.
At the edge of the wall opening 75, the stop tongue 66 is only
joined to the lateral outer wall section 63, 64 in the transition
region 72. Apart from that, a U-shaped gap 76 extends within the
wall opening 75 around the stop tongue 66, this gap 76 being
bounded on the outside by that region of the associated lateral
outer wall section 63, 64 which surrounds the wall opening 75.
In the non-pivoted home position, the stop projection 73 projects
relative to that wall outer surface 77 of the associated lateral
outer wall section 63, 64 which is opposite the drawer interior
57.
Each stop tongue 66 is in particular oriented such that it extends
from the transition region 72 in the insertion direction 13b, i.e.
in the illustrated embodiment towards the rear end section 65 of
the drawer element 12. Its free end region 74 is therefore oriented
towards the rear at the drawer element 12.
The stop tongue 66 is in particular designed such that is tapers
conically from the transition region 72 towards its free end region
74. As a result, is has a lesser width in the height direction 3 in
the region of the stop projection 73 than in the transition region
72.
In the pull-out and push-in process, the drawer element 12 slides
along the compartment base 79 with the downward-oriented base outer
surface 78 of the base wall 55. In the illustrated embodiment, each
compartment base 79 is formed by a module horizontal wall 25 of a
housing module 17. On the top side, the drawer element 12 is only
slightly distant from the compartment base 79 placed above, so that
is can easily be moved on the one hand but cannot be canted on the
other hand. For lateral stabilisation, the lateral outer wall
sections 63, 64 of the drawer element 12 can be supported on the
inside on the lateral compartment side wall sections 16a, 16b.
There is nevertheless enough play to prevent jamming. There is
therefore no need for guide rails. The pull-out limiting means 14
are designed such that the stop tongue 66 does not come into
contact with the wall inner surface--facing the reception
compartment 10--of the associated lateral compartment side wall
section 16a either during the pull-out movement 13a or during the
push-in movement 13b. In this way, the operation of the drawer
element 12 is not impeded by the stop tongues 66.
The pull-out limiting means 14 further include a number of
counter-stop edges 82 fixed in a stationary position on the
container housing 2 to match the number of stop tongues 66. One
such counter-stop edge 82 is functionally assigned to each stop
tongue 66 in such a way that the counter-stop edge 82 is closer to
the front side 6 in the longitudinal direction 4 than the stop
projection 73 of the respective stop tongue 66 if the drawer
element 12 is in the reception compartment 10. In more detail, in
the two lateral edge regions of the compartment opening 11, which
are oriented in the transverse direction 5, a counter-stop edge 82
each is arranged in such a way that it lies in the pull-out path of
the stop projection 73 located on the same side of the drawer
element 12.
When the drawer element 12 is pulled out of the associated
reception compartment 10, the drawer element 12 can--starting from
the fully pushed-in state--initially be pulled out of the container
housing 2 without impediment to some degree as indicated by arrow
13a. In this way, the drawer element 12 can be moved progressively
into any operating positions in which the upward-oriented opening
of its drawer interior 57 lies outside the container housing 2 to a
greater or lesser degree. The farther the drawer element 12 is
pulled out, the greater is the accessible length of the drawer
interior 57 as measured in the longitudinal direction 4.
The pull-out limiting means 14 mechanically preset a maximum
pulled-out operating position of the drawer element 12, This
maximum pulled-out operating position is the result of the stop
projections 73 of the two stop tongues 66 running from the interior
of the reception compartment 10 against the counter-stop edges 82
on the container housing 2. This state is illustrated in FIG.
5.
In this way, the drawer element 12 is blocked mechanically and an
accidental complete extraction from the container housing 2 is
impossible.
The counter-stop edges 82 can be realised by means of any suitably
positioned structures, which may either be components which are
separate from the container housing 2 or--which is
preferable--designed in one piece with the container housing 2. In
the illustrated embodiment, the two counter-stop edges 82 are
defined by the boundary wall sections 81 which laterally bound the
compartment opening 11 of the reception compartment 10 in the
transverse direction 5.
Each counter-stop edge 82 has a counter-stop face 84, which points
towards the interior of the reception compartment 10 and is opposed
by a stop face 83 formed on the rear--oriented in the direction of
the pull-out movement 13a--of the associated stop projection 73. To
preset the maximum pulled-out operating position, each of the stop
faces 83 hits one of the counter-stop faces 84, thereby stopping
any further movement of the drawer element 12.
An advantageous feature of the storage container 1 entails the fact
that the user has the opportunity to extract the at least one
drawer element 12 completely from the associated reception
compartment 10 if required, irrespective of the provision of the
pull-out limiting means 14, and then to handle it independently of
the container housing 2. A fully pulled-out drawer element 12 can,
for example, be deposited in the immediate working area of a
workman for fast availability of the tools contained therein.
The possibility of the optional complete extraction from the
reception compartment 10 is the result of the spring-elastic
pivotability 67 of the stop tongues 66. The reversible elastic
flexibility of the stop tongues 66 allows each stop tongue 66 to be
pivoted by the manual application of the operating force FB
mentioned above from the non-pivoted home position towards the
drawer interior into a release position shown in FIG. 6, in which
the stop projection 73, if the pull-out movement 13a is continued,
can move past the associated counter-stop edge 82 without
impediment. As a result of this pivoting into the release position,
the counter-stop edges 82 no longer lie in the pull-out path of the
stop projections 73.
After the stop projections 73 have passed the counter-stop edges 82
when the drawer element 12 is pulled out completely, the manual
operating force FB can be cancelled, so that the stop tongues 66
automatically return into the non-pivoted home position as a result
of their spring elasticity.
The stop tongues 66 and the counter-stop edges 82 are preferably
matched to one another in such a way that a section of the length
of the stop tongues 66 comes to lie outside the reception
compartment 10 in the maximum pulled-out operating position of the
drawer element 12, i.e. is outside the container housing 2 in the
region of the front side 6. To pivot them into the release
position, a finger of each hand can then easily apply pressure.
This advantageous association is provided in the illustrated
embodiment and can be seen in FIG. 5.
It is expedient if the user of the storage container 1 receives a
clear signal as to the optimum spot for introducing the operating
force FB for pivoting the stop tongues 66. For this purpose, the
stop tongues 66 are expediently provided with a raised operating
structure 85 on the outside of the support arms 69 remote from the
drawer interior 57. By way of example, this operating structure 85
is designed in the manner of a fluting and is composed of a
plurality of parallel rib-like projections. The operating structure
85 is located in the region between the transition region 72 and
the stop projection 73.
To reinsert a fully pulled-out drawer element 12 into the reception
compartment 10, the stop tongues 66 are once again temporarily
moved into the release position. If the stop projections 73 then
have passed the counter-stop edges 82 in the push-in movement 13b
and the operating force FB has been cancelled, they spring back
into the non-pivoted home position, so that they can once again
fulfil their pull-out limiting function.
The storage containers 1 of the illustrated embodiment are designed
such that the stop tongues 66 are temporarily pivoted into the
release position solely by their contact with the container housing
2 while a fully pulled-out drawer element 12 is being pushed in. In
this process, the operating force is introduced not at the support
arm 69, but directly at the stop projection 73. To make this
possible, each stop projection 73 has on the front side pointing in
the direction of the push-in movement 13b an inclined sliding
surface 86 with an inclination having the result that it
increasingly diverges from the drawer interior 57 in the pull-out
direction of the drawer element 12.
When the completely removed drawer element 12 is inserted into the
reception compartment 10, the sliding surfaces 86 of the stop
projections 73 come into contact with a counter-stop body 87, which
defines the associated counter-stop face 84 and which is preferably
the boundary wall section 81 mentioned above of the container
housing 2.
When the sliding surfaces 86 come into contact with the
counter-stop bodies 87 in the insertion process of the drawer
element 12, they slide on the counter-stop bodies 87 while being
forced towards the drawer interior 57 until the whole stop
projection 73 has finally passed the counter-stop edge 82. Now the
operating force caused by the counter-stop body 87 is no longer
present, and the stop tongues 66 springs back into the home
position.
The pull-out limiting means 14 are preferably designed such that
their blocking function cannot be cancelled even by an especially
strong pull-out force acting on the drawer element 12. This is
achieved by providing that the stop projections 73 are designed to
be barb-shaped at their rear side oriented in the pull-out
direction and have a stop face 83 which is inclined relative to a
plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 4. The counter-stop
faces 84 of the counter-stop edges 82 are also inclined in the same
direction, so that stop projections 73 are locked to the
counter-stop edges 82 in the maximum pulled-out operating position.
The hooking engagement becomes the stronger the more vigorously the
drawer element 12 is pulled. In this way, the unintentional
complete withdrawal of the drawer element because of carelessness
can be prevented.
* * * * *